Jack Richard Grassel died unexpectedly on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee after a head-on collision. He was 77. His obituary says family and friends are scheduled to gather on Oct. 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. at 3 Acres Banquet Hall in Caledonia.
Jill Jensen and Racine
Grassel married Jill Jensen on Dec. 29, 1999, and the two made Racine their home. They had performed mostly as a duo since 1998, and their last SRO concert came on Aug. 16, 2026, at Villa Terrace Museum in Milwaukee.
That final performance lands near the end of a career that stretched from 1969 to 2003 and included live work with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and performers such as Luciano Pavarotti, Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney, Jay Leno, Nancy Wilson, Cab Calloway, Tom Jones and Doc Severinsen. The obituary also says he was known for guitar work, perfect pitch and mastery of seven instruments.
Milwaukee Area Technical College in 1983
Grassel was born on Sept. 3, 1948, in Milwaukee, the son of Lawrence Grassel and Ruth Grassel. In 1983, he designed the Music Occupations Department at Milwaukee Area Technical College in, then retired after 20 years and a major illness in 2004.
He also invented a three-neck guitar hybrid that combined bass guitar, six-string guitar and mandolin necks, and the obituary says he wrote 23 instruction books, recorded 21 CDs, composed 70 works and received 12 industry awards. That mix of teaching, recording and invention gives the memorial gathering a practical purpose: it is a chance for family and friends to mark a career built around performance and instruction, not just one final date.
October 18 in Caledonia
The Oct. 18 gathering at 3 Acres Banquet Hall in Caledonia is the next scheduled public step. The obituary names his wife, stepdaughter, grandchildren, brothers and former wife among those left to mourn him, while also noting that Andrew Grassel and Benjamin Grassel preceded him in death.
